I highly recommend this adventure. You can do it independently as I did. Or sign on with a guide or group. Or … do as another Canadian did. Hire a company to do all the logistics … (booking accommodation, meals, ground transport, etc.) … then hike it independently. This cost about CAD$1500 in his case.

I am proud to say that in 2008 I did the full 14 day hike with a friend, from Zermatt to Chamonix, without cheating. We carried a tent and cooked our own food, sleeping in refuges only twice (self-service ones), once in a watershed area (around Lac des Dix) and once in Le Peuty after crossing the Fenetre d’Arpette in a raging blizzard. Nice to see the pictures of the view from the Fenetre…we couldn’t see a thing!

Those 14 days were the end of 2 months of backpacking in the Alps, and I have to say that I was challenged physically and emotionally on that journey, but that summer and hike were the best experiences of my life.

How cold is it at night on an average night in August? What was your coldest night? Do you have any good sources to check the weather? I’m looking to go this August, and I’d love to tent if possible. It seems like you did just fine.